Critical observations of print/broadcast/Web media plus public relations and advertising

August 06, 2012

Many publications, in their heavy coverage of the 2012 Olympics in London, are missing how the Internal Revenue Service is “licking its chops” --- cheering especially for more U.S. gold medal winners --- so it can collect hefty taxes, notes Grumpy Editor.

Under U.S. tax law, winning athletes must add the value of their Olympic medals and honorariums to taxable income.

The IRS slaps a 35 percent tax rate on winners.

That’s pretty rough on some athletes who are teenagers and still going to school.

The U.S. Olympic Committee awards athletes $25,000 for gold medals, $15,000 for silver and $10,000 for bronze.

Americans for Tax Reform Foundation calculates a gold medal winner will pay the IRS up to $8,986, while silver medal winners face a tax up to $5,385 and bronze medal winners are nicked with a tax up to $3,502.

Noting this, some Washington lawmakers are coming to the rescue to exempt U.S. medal winners from paying taxes on their Olympic achievements.

Sen. Marco Rubio, (R., Fla.) last Wednesday introduced such a plan in the Senate, calling for a tax code overhaul “to aggressively fix ridiculous tax laws like this tax on Olympians’ medals and prize money.”

July 30, 2012

With hordes of still photographers having a field day at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, some --- in efforts to stand out from the crowd --- were too artsy prior to and at opening ceremonies, notes Grumpy Editor after surveying the art output over the weekend.

Examples of two Associated Press photographers’ efforts zeroing in on Olympic subjects with strikingly strange results that, amazingly, captured eyes of some editors who ran with them:

A blurred AP shot of a gymnast from China running in a training session. What was odd was the fuzzy result wiped out the participant’s legs and arms, making the scene sort of spooky.

Another AP cameraman captured a New Zealand woman gearing up for equestrian events by running with her horse. The photo showed only her legs and shoes alongside the horse’s hoofs. Although identified (along with her horse’s name) in the caption, she was cropped off at the thighs.

Friday night’s opening ceremonies, capped by fireworks over London’s Olympic Stadium, gained the most attention on front pages over the weekend.

Oneartistic AP photo, showing the aerial display, looked like a colorful inverted glass bowl over a green splotch, with nothing distinguishable. Nevertheless, it was spread over the upper half of the front page of the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

While staff photographers were on scene from the Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, USA Today, New York Times and Houston Post, among others, AP’s Morry Gash focused his camera the traditional way in capturing the five Olympic rings glowing over the stadium.

Gash’s normal shot was used on front pages of a number of U.S. dailies, including The (San Luis Obispo, Calif.) Tribune, Bradenton (Florida) Herald, The (Munster, Ind.) Times, Gloucester County (N.J.) Times, The Boston Globe, The (Lorain, Ohio) Morning Journal, Knoxville’s News Sentinel, Sacramento Bee and the Chicago suburbs’ Daily Herald.

Washington Post’s photographer also snapped a similar front-page shot.

The Houston Chronicle’s lensman at opening ceremonies zeroed in on 20 U.S. athletes, including one from Cypress, Texas --- all sporting the U.S. participants (now widely cited) made-in-China jackets, shirts and berets.

Being a bit different, the New York Times photographer clicked on a squadron (nine to be exact) of Mary Poppinses, holding black umbrellas, descending into Olympic Stadium. The front-page art appeared over the headline:

July 26, 2012

With the Olympic Games from London officially getting under way tomorrow, NBC will be live-streaming every competition --- 3,500 hours, 302 events in 32 sports --- on NBCOlympics.com and the NBC Olympics app for mobile devices and tablets, notes Grumpy Editor.

September 30, 2011

With postseason baseball games getting under way today, AssociatedPress produces a style guide of key terms and definitions relating to the sport so writers and editors can be on the same page, notes Grumpy Editor.

First off, AP reminds that ballclub, ballgame, ballpark and ballplayer all are one word. But with “Take Me Out to the Ball Game,” the traditional song during the seventh-inning stretch, ballgame is split into two words.

Among other terms so that baseball writers don’t strike out:

No more fancy words when a player hits the baseball out of the park, cautions AP. Words such as walloped, blasted, cracked, bombs, four baggers are frowned on. It’s strictly hitting a home run.

As for pitchers, sports writers are refrained from using words such as twirling, chucking or fireballing.

Also with pitchers, AP points out that it takes two pitchers doing well for a duel. So that means pitchers’ duel rather than pitcher’s duel.

Forget the hyphens, says AP, when it comes to describing third base umpire, first base coach and left field line.

Finally, a team that goes through division series, league championship series and wins the World Series (starting Oct. 19) is called World Series champions, not world champions.

September 02, 2011

One of the underplayed sports stories of the week relates to Vin Scully returning to the broadcast booth for his 63rd season with the Dodgers next year, notes Grumpy Editor.

The Hall of Famer, who started broadcasting Dodger games when the baseball team was in Brooklyn prior to moving to Los Angeles, decided to continue the play-by-play into 2012 after “a lot of soul searching and a few prayers.”

Scully, 83, added, “Besides, what else would I do?”

The veteran sportscaster works solo, an amazing task, and calls all nine (or more) innings of the Dodgers’ televised games and the first three innings of each game simulcast on radio.

What makes Scully different from other baseball broadcasters is that he combines precise play-by-play action with a steady flow of interesting player and team facts, figures, assorted tid bits and story telling.

There’s no dead air with Scully at the microphone.

In short, he puts sparkle into dull games.

Some other baseball broadcasters, often working with a partner, would do well to emulate Scully.

Sometimes their trivial chatter, coupled with boring action on the field, puts viewers into a deep dozing mode.

July 13, 2011

As the Internal Revenue Service moved with dispatch to indicate that it will be seeking to collect income tax from Christian Lopez, the New York Yankees fan who caught the ball that represented Derek Jeter’s 3,000th hit, it provides Yankees management with a great opportunity to lift interest in baseball and do a good deed while achieving a smart public relations job --- by paying the taxes for the solid fan in the stands, feels Grumpy Editor.

Lopez, a 23-year-old Verizon customer sales representative, grabbed the prized home-run ball, one of five Jeter hits at Saturday’s game, and returned it to the Yankees captain, whom he called “an icon.”

In doing so, he nixed pocketing up to $300,000 that the ball would likely fetch an auction.

As a reward for his action, Yankees management gifted Lopez with luxury suite tickets for all remaining home games and any post-season games the Yankees may play plus autographed bats, balls and jerseys.

Total value of the items was estimated at about $32,000.

Noticing that, the IRS quickly jumped in and figured Lopez would be good for between $5,000 and $13,000 in income tax.

Lopez told the New York Daily News that he’ll pay the tax rather than relinquish the prized seats. “If worse comes to worse,” said the Yankees follower, “I’ll have to pay the taxes”…“I’m not going to return the seats.”

February 10, 2011

While Super Bowl XLV set TV viewership records on Sunday, alternative Bowl programming on Animal Planet also reached a high mark for that channel, something not readily reported by print and broadcast media, notes Grumpy Editor.

Action on the field was even rougher, with hairy players knocking over, barking at --- and even biting --- opposing participants.

September 10, 2010

As baseball action nears pennant time, TBS telecasts of the games are boosted by impressive camera coverage and analysis from knowledgeable talent that keep viewers alert and not snoozing, finds Grumpy Editor.

For Sunday’s Yankees-Texas Rangers game, for example, former baseball pitchers John Smoltz and Dennis Eckersley will man the TBS booth along with Ernie Johnson Jr.

Smoltz teamed with another former pitcher, Ron Darling, last Sunday in providing comments on TBS during the White Sox-Red Sox game in Boston.

That contest brought interesting chatter and camera work, including outfield/infield panning to show positions of players at crucial moments and on-target slow-motion replays.

This contrasts with some Fox Sports camera work that often zooms in on pitchers and batters for irritating, repeated “nostril shots” --- tight close-ups from forehead to chin. Talk at some of that network’s Saturday baseball “games of the week” often sends Grumpy Editor into a slumber mode.

With TBS, sports producer Glenn Diamond says, “Our crew works very hard every Sunday to provide the best coverage.” Coupling ex-players such as Darling and Smoltz provides output that is “very informative and entertaining,” he adds.

Also doing splendid jobs in covering baseball: Jon Miller and ex-player Joe Morgan, a veteran team that meshes well on ESPN.

Tough to beat, however, is veteran Hall of Fame broadcaster Vin Scully who combines play-by-play with a steady flow of player facts, figures, interesting assorted information and story telling. He adds sparkle even in a dull, low-scoring game.

At 82, Scully works solo --- an amazing task --- on the air, generally calling games west of the Rockies. He’s set for his 62nd season in 2011 describing the action at Los Angeles Dodger games because “when push came to shove, I just did not want to leave.”

October 05, 2009

Print and broadcast media last week were heavy in coverage leading up to the decision on the hosting site for the 2016 Olympics and with President Barack Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama and Oprah Winfrey beating the drums on-scene in Copenhagen for their Chicago hometown, news reports accelerated, notes Grumpy Editor.

But when Chicago was nixed Friday in the first round of voting by the International Olympic Committee --- after an initial surge of “stunned” coverage, especially in Chicago --- comments and reports quickly subsided.

After Rio de Janeiro won the hosting right, headline writers displayed their versatility in Saturday newspapers’ front pages.

Best headline, feels Grumpy Editor, went to the Wall StreetJournal, which came up with a play on words: Rio throws Chicago for a Loop.

The Washington Post bannered: Chicago’s Not Their Kind of Town.

The Chicago Tribune was short and to the point: FLAMEOUT.

The Chicago Sun-Times cried: Blame it on Rio.

The Miami Herald emphasized the winning country: BRAZIL’S TIME.

The New York Times settled for: Rio de Janeiro Picked to Hold 2016 Olympics.

The Los Angeles Times reflected celebrations in Brazil: Rio parties like it’s 2016.

The Boston Globe summed it up: FUN IN RIO, NO GAMES IN CHICAGO.

The Washington Times compressed it all in six words: Rio to host 2016 Summer Games.

Other major newspapers, such as the Detroit News, HartfordCourant and San Francisco Chronicle (with only a one-sentence reference to an inside page), kept the Olympics city decision story off front pages.